Translator: AnubisTL
In that instant, Jieming felt as if he heard a faint crack, like glass being forced to break.
At the exact moment he shifted from phase space back to the main plane, an impossibly thin, dark line flickered through the air less than a centimeter in front of him.
It wasn't light, but a "wound" in space—an absolute fault line created when two layers of reality were forcibly misaligned.
Sssshht!
A cut, half a finger deep and terrifyingly smooth, appeared on the alloy target.
The severed surface was as polished as a mirror, reflecting the training ground's dim light. There were no sparks, no signs of melting; it was as if the material in that region had been erased from existence by some supreme power.
The Black Giant Priest, who had been staring intently at the instruments, suddenly gasped.
On the energy detector before him, almost no energy burst had been captured in that instant. However, the space fluctuation detector had recorded a peak so sharp it nearly broke the scale.
"It worked..." Jieming stared at the cut, a surge of warmth spreading through his chest.
This confirmed his initial hypothesis: the spatial shearing force unleashed the moment phase space was disrupted could indeed ignore the conventional physical strength of matter.
The violent spatial shearing force generated when two phase space overlapped would create a Spatial Slash—a theoretical attack capable of destroying any material!
"Next, test its power and controllability."
He took a few steps back and entered the phase shift state again.
This time, he simulated a dash in actual combat.
His figure flickered in and out of phase space like a ghost, "phasing" through a brand-new alloy target in an instant.
The moment his form solidified in the main plane, a clearer tearing sound echoed from another target beside him.
Shred!
This time, the spatial rupture was no longer a fleeting thin line. Instead, it lingered, extended by the "momentum" he carried during the shift.
The heavy alloy target was sliced diagonally in half from top to bottom!
The upper half slowly slid along the smooth cutting surface before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
The cut edge remained perfectly smooth, without a single burr.
Jieming felt the drain on his mental power and the strain on his brain's "processing power."
The mental power consumption was minimal. The real burden lay in the processing: every second inside the phase space, Jieming had to constantly calculate a torrent of data to maintain spatial stability. Any movement or sudden exit caused the required computational load to skyrocket.
Fortunately, while the strain from continuous use was significant, it remained within an acceptable range.
More importantly, he realized he could control the "form" and "range" of the Spatial Slash.
Simply put, by altering the release method, he could focus the attack into a single-point "pierce" or sweep it across a wide area as a "slash."
"Finally, let's test its limits and characteristics."
He had the Priest bring out a biological armor simulation plate specifically designed to test sixth-tier defense strength. The plate emitted a powerful energy field, capable of deflecting and absorbing the vast majority of attacks from the fifth-tier peak-stage.
Jieming took a deep breath, focusing his mind to its optimal state.
He once again slipped into the phase gap, silently closing in on the formidable simulation plate.
The moment he touched the glow of the force field...
Switch!
Voom!!!
This time, the sound was different.
It was no longer the crisp sound of a cut, but a low, rumbling vibration—as if space itself were groaning in agony.
The spatial rift that had appeared was no longer pure black; its edges even shimmered with a faint, unstable, seven-colored glow.
Yet, the result remained staggering.
The powerful sixth-tier energy field had been effortlessly "torn open" before the spatial fault, like butter meeting a hot knife.
The biological armor simulation plate behind it had also been sliced with a deep gash. Though its thickness had prevented a complete cut, the damage had already penetrated one-third of its depth!
Most crucially, the instrument data showed that at the moment the Spatial Slash took effect, the energy field's strength had played almost no role in weakening the attack. It was as if the strike had "skipped" the process of energy confrontation entirely, acting directly upon the essence of matter and the energy field itself.
The experiment was over.
Jieming deactivated his spell, breathing slightly heavily.
As he surveyed the wrecked test field and the targets and armor plates destroyed by the Spatial Slash, his eyes gleamed with a mixture of excitement and deep thought.
"As I suspected... the theory is correct. The power of the [Spatial Slash] comes from shearing space itself, not from energy collision. As long as the timing is right, it can indeed pose a lethal threat to higher-tier enemies."
He walked up to the sliced sixth-tier defense plate and traced the smooth cut with his finger.
"Still, the moment I shift, I'm exposed. And attacks on high-energy targets seem to trigger more violent spatial reactions, requiring stronger control to stabilize... These are all areas for future optimization."
Unlike the wildly unstable Space Distortion, which was heavily influenced by the surrounding energy environment, the power of Spatial Slash remained almost completely unaffected by external energy levels before the phase shift was complete.
Theoretically, if Jieming could successfully close the distance with this move, even a sixth-tier being could be severely wounded or even killed instantly, provided they lacked specific defenses!
"Of course, that's only the best-case theoretical scenario," Jieming analyzed calmly. "In actual combat, beings at the sixth tier possess incredibly keen spatial awareness. Approaching them silently is nearly impossible. And even if I did, they could dodge or defend by predicting the spatial fluctuations."
Regardless, this undoubtedly provided him with a new and extremely threatening means of single-target lethality.
To summarize, he now possessed three types of spatial wizardry:
Space Distortion was responsible for large-scale area-of-effect attacks and regional suppression; Spatial Stabilization handled defense, sealing, and counter-measures; phase shift and its derivative, Spatial Slash, focused on stealth, mobility, and lethal single-target assassinations.
Offense, defense, control, and stealth—a relatively complete spatial tactical system had already begun to take shape.
Jieming was quite satisfied with this result; a century of diligent study had not been in vain.
However, amidst his satisfaction, a new thought surfaced.
Because spatial wizardry involved manipulation at the level of fundamental rules, its energy structure and operational logic were extremely specialized and precise.
He found that he could not simply use the "talismanic seal" techniques of the cultivation system to enhance its effects by drawing in massive amounts of external elemental power, as he did with ordinary energy-based witchcraft.
"Given the instability of space-type spells, rashly using talismanic seals to amplify the elemental energy input would only drastically increase the chance of failure. And even if I managed to force a successful casting, the effect would likely be inferior to the original version. However..."
Jieming stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming. "The cultivation system is vast and profound. Besides talismanic seals, there seem to be other methods that could be put to use—like... certain formation principles involving spatial manipulation, or a unique understanding of concepts like the 'Void' and the 'Mustard Seed'... I think I read about that in a book somewhere..."
He felt he had glimpsed a new path to fusion and was about to delve deeper into his thoughts.
But before Jieming could sink his consciousness into the depths of his mind, his portable magic net terminal suddenly pulsed with a distinct and familiar vibration.
Jieming glanced at it instinctively—it was a message from Mentor Clark.
His brow twitched slightly. He had to temporarily suppress his desire to explore the spatial techniques of immortal cultivation and turn his attention to his mentor's message.
(End of the Chapter)
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